ICBC sheds 250 staff and 6 VPs following damning report
Two more senior staff scheduled to leave next year
The reduction of 250 staff will save ICBC $29 million a year, an agency VP says.
Photograph by: Jason Payne, PNG
Acting on a damning report on its corporate efficiency, ICBC followed through Thursday with 250 staff cuts, including six vice-presidents.
Steve Crombie, the government insurance corporation’s VP of communications and marketing, said more cuts will come next year.
“We have reduced our VP ranks by six positions, with a plan to reduce by another two positions in 2013,” Crombie said.
“ICBC committed publicly in August when we responded to the government review that we would be making significant cuts.
“ICBC expects to save $29 million per year for the full 250 reductions.”
The government review’s findings stoked public anger, as car-insurance costs rose in part to pay for a top-heavy bureaucracy.
“There will be some bargaining unit positions eliminated, but the focus is on senior managers and managers,” said Crombie.
“We’re confident that our customers want us to be running a lean organization and that’s what these changes will deliver.”
A company advisory said the “reductions go beyond the recommendations from the government review of ICBC earlier this year and bring staffing below 2008 levels.
“The company is making these reductions earlier than planned with a majority of the reductions occurring in 2012.”
While ICBC’s cost of doing business decreases, Crombie said customers shouldn’t feel the effects.
“ICBC has always planned to be a smaller company as we complete our modernization effort,” he said.
“We are confident that we have come to a number of positions that we can reduce without impacting day to day service to customers.”
The company’s statement on its website said the “restructuring” had resulted in a “reduced executive team.
“In these economic times, ICBC continues to focus on controlling costs and being financially stable, while keeping rates as low as possible and providing excellent customer service.”
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